Sydney OZ

[heyduke]

Well my bride and I are going on one last hoorah vacation before we retire - so it is off to Sydney Australia and the south Pacific after boarding the RCCL Rhapsody of the Seas on Oct 27th..
So since this board seems well traveled O seek input and suggestions for things to do in Sydney... places to stay... places to eat etc... since we will be there for a few days pre-cruise.

 

[rescueme]

Take the harbor cruise; do the bridge climb; tour the opera house; have a few dinners on the waterfront; go to Bondi beach; take the monorail, and much, much more (certainly too many pictures to post here); click each on to get a better view - especially of the folks on the bridge (DW being one of them):

 

[KanDo]

On the bridge climb, I recommend making reservations in advance - and if at all possible, book the twilight climb! We did this a few years ago, and you climb up with there is still daylight so you get a great view of the city. The sunset sat while we were at the top - and then we could see all the city lights on the climb down. They typically charge a bit more for the twilight climb- but very much worth it. Have fun!

 

[Gotadimple]

Go to the aquarium -- one of the largest in the world!

If you have the time, book a day tour out to the Three Sisters, maybe even catching some quality time with a koala.

-- Rita

 

[rescueme]

...maybe even catching some quality time with a koala.

-- Rita

Unfortunally, considered a "pest" down under. We saw a lot of forest areas that were "stripped" up north, by these critters (hey, but they are cute..)

 

[Brat]

We stayed at a small hotel in The Rocks area. I recommend the neighborhood.

 

[DangerMouse]

If you can afford it stay at the Hyatt and book a room with a view of the Opera House. Our favourite hotel in Sydney is actually the Westin on Martin Place. Really good size rooms with nice bathrooms.

Actually we don't consider koalas a pest, the problem is the are overbreeding and starving themselves in the process as there are too many of them competing for a limited amount of trees. In some areas they are sterilising them to prevent this. The other issue with koalas is a lot of them have syphillis. Don't worry, it's not caused by humans doing anything naughty to them, think it's got something to do with their food supply.

The one we consider to be a pest in Australia is the kangaroo and we do cull it. Apparently it is quite tasty to eat, as it is extremely lean.

 

[heyduke]

keep them coming... thanks for the tips... the bridge climb is out of the question as the SO has a phobia of heights...

 

[Nords]

So since this board seems well traveled O seek input and suggestions for things to do in Sydney... places to stay... places to eat etc... since we will be there for a few days pre-cruise.

Will there be any time left over after all the surfing & diving?

 

[DangerMouse]

It is possible to walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge for free. I'm with your wife, the heights from the top would do my head in. However it does feel safe to walk across because there is no way you could possibly go over as there is safety cages all the way across.

Before you go surfing or diving have you seen how many surfers/divers have been attacked by sharks on the East Coast of Australia the past couple of years?? Remember October it is still going to be a bit nippy as it will not yet be summer.

 

[Nords]

Before you go surfing or diving have you seen how many surfers/divers have been attacked by sharks on the East Coast of Australia the past couple of years?? Remember October it is still going to be a bit nippy as it will not yet be summer.

I hear that a lot, but I'd have to compare the shark numbers to the other attacks from lightning, airplanes, and vehicular traffic.

You'll never see this newspaper headline in 48-point font:
"THOUSANDS OF SURFERS SURVIVE ANOTHER YEAR WITHOUT A SHARK ATTACK!!!"

 

[DangerMouse]

Sydney travel guide | Things to do | Places to stay and eat | Smug

Some good ides for those who may be venturing to Sydney in the future.

Sailors Thai is a very tasty restaurant, we normally eat there when we are in Sydney.

 

[BigNick]

If you take a trip into the bush (which is remarkably close to many suburbs), don't forget to watch out for the Drop Bears. The safest way to avoid them is not to walk under the branches of eucalyptus trees.

 

[dizzy]

Between cruises last year we stayed a few days at the Sydney Quay Grand Suites with a harbor view room. If your cruise is embarking at Circular Quay, you can walk to the ship (we took a couple trips with our bags). With the harbor view room, you are basically looking across the harbor at the cruise dock and can watch your ship come in... Plus you can watch all of the ferry activity below you at Circular Quay. These spacious apartments are also "self catering" with a pretty decent kitchen so if you like to cook, you can do your own meals. We also had a washer/dryer in the suite which was great. You can't see the opera house from the rooms, but you are literally steps away. It's not cheap, but we feel that we definitely felt like it was worth it.

Quay Grand Suites Sydney (Sydney, Australia) - Hotel Reviews - TripAdvisor

(whoops, just noticed this trip already happened! sorry. maybe someone else will find this useful)

 

[itsmyparty]

Quantas Premium Economy

Wondered if anyone has booked or tried Quantas' new seating - premium economy that is between the small room economy seats and business? We're hoping to go to Australia in the next couple of years....and if this is a good option to business class..would be more comfortable and a real $-saver.

Quite a few years ago, DH had to travel only once to Sydney..company paid business class. Know Sydney is beautiful and we're looking forward to seeing that country and NZ too.

 

[DangerMouse]

When we go to Australia we go Premium Economy. The flight is too long to do economy and is made worse by being an evening flight which is when your body wants to sleep and it is not going to happen in economy class.

What I would suggest you do is sign up for VAustralia and Qantas email alerts for sales. For example, Qantas had a sale that ended last week that was selling PE seats for half price, so effectively you could buy two round trips in PE for $4000. Other sales I have seen is two PE seats for the price of one, $4000, but that only works if two of you are travelling together.

Personally I prefer the VAustralia product, the in flight service is better and the IFE is much better than Qantas as well. The only downside of using VAustralia is the frequent flyer aspect. I think base points on a PE fare to Oz is normally around 16k so you would want to be able to use these points in the future. Qantas flies out of SFO as well as LAX to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. VAustralia only goes out of LAX to Brisbane and Sydney. Qantas does have a flight Sydney-Auckland-LAX if you wanted to incorporate NZ into your trip.

One other airline to consider is Air New Zealand as they go either SFO or LAX to Sydney via Auckland and they have a PE section as well. I have not flown with them but they have a good reputation. I have been looking for flights to Oz this week and ANZ have had the best prices. ANZ is part of the Star Alliance so if you are a member of the United Frequent Flyer program they may work the best for you.

 

[Moscyn]

Visit Sydney Observatory. The grand finale of the astonomy tour takes you to the top of the observatory and it is an amazing experience. You may wish to have dinner at the luxurious Observatory Hotel. I had dinner there and the food was fantastic. If you don't want to eat there, you can stroll to the Rocks which is nearby and it has a great selection of restaurants.